


Two Heroes for the Price of One

by miraculousstorytelling



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Arguing, Bonding, Communication, Fluff In The End, Funny I swear, Gen, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-09
Updated: 2016-09-09
Packaged: 2018-08-13 23:39:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7990483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miraculousstorytelling/pseuds/miraculousstorytelling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Ladybug and Cat Noir have a small fight, the last thing they need is an akuma forcing them to share Cat Noir’s body.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Two Heroes for the Price of One

**Author's Note:**

> Written because ladyserendipitous gives me too many good ideas. Also posted on tumblr under miraculousstorytelling.

"I don't know why it's so hard for you to just listen to me," Ladybug snapped as she landed a short distance away from the location of their latest battle, "You could have been seriously hurt back there."

"In case you forgot, I'm a hero, too," Cat Noir snapped back, his voice uncharacteristically bitter.

She looked taken aback, "What exactly is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"It means I'm not your sidekick!"

"I never said you were!" she shouted back, stomping her foot in frustration, "Why are you acting like this?"

"Because you keep rushing into danger! You leapt into a dinosaur's mouth just a few days ago!"

"I knew what I was doing!" she yelled, throwing her hands up in frustration.

"So, I don't?" he shot back, folding his arms over his chest.

"I never said that either," she frowned. "Are you actually going to listen to me or are you just going to put words in my mouth?"

"Okay, let's talk about that." He ticked off points on his fingers, "Because, one, I _always_ listen to you. Two, you _always_ have the plan. Three, I'm _always_ your support. Four, you act like you don't need me."

She frowned as her earrings let out another beep, "I've never even once thought any of that. It sounds to me like you're really mad about something else, so why don't you call me when you figure it out?" Much as she hated leaving things like this, they didn't have time to properly discuss it.

He looked away, still sulking, and she flew off, clearly still frustrated as well. He'd be better after some time to cool off, Ladybug assured herself. She just needed to give him a little space, then they could talk this out calmly and rationally.

 

Unfortunately for both of them, Hawkmoth required neither time nor space. He chuckled as he watched one particularly overworked teacher yell at her student.

"Manon, you need to let other students play with the doll!"

"But, it's _mine_!" Manon shouted, "I got it first!"

"It belongs to the whole class," the teacher insisted, "You need to share."

"No!" Manon shrieked, tugging the doll out of her teacher's hands, "It's _mine_!"

As the teacher angrily snatched the doll away from Manon, neither of them noticed the dark butterfly headed straight for the doll. "Manon!" the teacher scolded, "You need to-" She stopped when the akuma hit, and a purple outline surrounded her eyes.

"Additionner, I am Hawkmoth. I will help you teach the world to share, and in exchange, you will bring me Cat Noir and Ladybug's miraculouses."

She smirked, "Yes, Hawkmoth." In an instant, her clothes were replaced by a severe dark purple suit, patterned with math symbols. Her hair twisted up into a large bun, and a wicked grin spread over her lips as she looked down at her frightened children, "Now, class, who'd like to help Ms. Additionner teach Manon how to share?"

 

Marinette had just landed on her bed with a heavy sigh when she heard the screams. A small, selfish, exhausted part of her wanted to stay inside, cover her ears, and pretend she didn't hear it, but the much larger, responsible part of her knew that was not an option. Instead, she sat up and glanced over at Tikki.

"Looks like we're still needed today. Let's get you some cookies."

If she was lucky, maybe Cat Noir would be over whatever petty irritation had caused him to lash out at her. Maybe he'd stay home. Maybe she'd be able to deal with it before he even arrived.

Somehow, she doubted even Ladybug's luck was quite that good.

Tikki finished off a cookie and smiled, "I'm ready!"

"All right, spots on!"

 

When Ladybug arrived at the site of the akuma attack, she glanced around for a hint of what she was facing. At first, all she could find were frightened victims of the villain's attacks, milling about the streets.

"I need to go to work!" One woman cried, "Well, so do I! And this is my body!"

"What?" Ladybug asked softly.

A man below alternated between sobbing like a child and soothingly assuring himself everything would be okay. Ladybug landed on a rooftop near a large group of people who were all behaving as strangely as the ones she'd encountered so far. Most were panicking, but a few were too surprised to do more than stare down at themselves.

The only one who seemed to be enjoying herself was a severe-looking woman in a suit that matched Hawkmoth's preferred dark purple. She cackled, "You will all learn from Additionner, and the world will be a better place when everyone understands my lessons." Luckily, Hawkmoth was never one for subtlety with his villains.

A soft thump beside Ladybug heralded her partner's arrival, and she grimaced.

"What's the plan?" he asked, his voice a little sharp and cold compared to his normal demeanor.

"Still working on one. I just got here." She glanced back at him, noting his tense stance, "You know, I can probably handle this myself if you'd rather take the afternoon off."

He glared at her, "I'm fine."

"Really?" She scowled, "Because you're still acting pretty catty."

He didn't even smile at the pun, which honestly worried her more than any of his other behavior. "Let's just get this over with."

She rolled her eyes and looked down at the villain, noting the small toy strapped to her waist, "The doll looks pretty out of place. Maybe that's her ak- Cat!"

He was already leaping down to the ground below, heading straight for Additionner.

Ladybug landed seconds later, grabbing his tail and yanking him back, "Cat Noir, we need a plan!"

"I had one!" He bristled, "Would you quit grabbing me?!"

She snapped, "Great, you have a plan! Would you like to maybe share it with your partner?!"

"Why should I? You never do!" He shouted back.

"Uh-oh." A soft voice sounded beside them, "Sounds like someone needs to learn to share..." They froze and turned just in time to see their foe clap her hands together.

They experienced a brief moment where the world tilted on its side, and when it righted, Cat Noir moved into a stance, "Okay, I'll distract her, and you-" He frowned and glanced around him, surprised to see his partner was nowhere to be found, "Ladybug?"

"Cat, what happened?" The voice that answered him came from his own lips using his own voice, but he hadn't formed the words himself. Rather, he heard them in his mind in Ladybug's voice. He felt his body move on its own as he brought his hands up to his eyes and let out a small shriek. "Am I Cat Noir?!"

He jerked his hands back down, reaching for his baton, "What's going on?"

The villain laughed, "If Paris' finest heroes can't fight as one, then perhaps it's time you relearned how to work together." She frowned as a purple butterfly symbol flashed over her face. Clearly, Hawkmoth was scolding her for failing to bring him Ladybug's miraculous before using her powers on them.

Cat Noir felt his hands raise again, his jaw dropping in what he assumed must have been Ladybug's surprise, "We're both in your body?" Suddenly, the odd behavior they'd observed in those around the villain made a great deal more sense.

He growled and lowered his hands, "I don't believe this." Ordinarily, he might take a moment to enjoy this at least a little bit, but at the moment, it was yet another reason to be frustrated.

Ladybug spoke again as she borrowed his body to look around, "Okay, I think the best plan is-"

He scowled, "The plan is I'll take out the akuma."

His hands fisted and settled on his hips as he heard Ladybug yell at him, "What is wrong with you?! We've been hit by an akuma." His foot stamped, "We don't have time for this!"

He snapped, "I can _handle_ this. Stop taking over!" With that, he reached back and grabbed his baton to strike at the villain.

Additionner simply dodged and snickered, "Careful, little catbug, you need to share that body."

Seemingly proving his point, he could feel his partner take over and grab for the doll.

She tsked him and jumped out of reach, "I won't be so easy to take down."

Cat Noir grimaced and leapt at the villain, barely missing. He fought each attempt Ladybug made to use his limbs, but she did manage to voice a few warning "Cat Noir"s as he ducked and weaved around Additionner. He could almost feel his partner's fury building as he missed time and time again.

He felt his lips curl into a scowl before the sensation of his body moving on its own kicked in. His body ran away from the battle, leaping onto several rooftops before Ladybug let him regain control of it again.

Cat Noir flung his arms up in exasperation, "Why did you do that? We need to stop her."

"We're not going to get anywhere if we don't work together," Ladybug answered him in his own voice.

"So, you ran away from the battle to talk about our feelings?" he sneered, surprising himself with the venom in his voice.

He felt himself frown and fold his arms over his chest as his partner took over, "You know, Cat, I always expected that if you had a problem with me, you'd respect me enough to talk to me. I didn't think you'd be this petty."

When she returned control of his body back to him, he was quiet, staring at the ground before slumping back against the wall, "I'm just... I'm tired."

She lifted his hand to his cheek, offering what sympathy she could, "I wasn't kidding when I said you could take a break." His voice sounded tender and concerned, and it nearly broke him completely knowing that she cared so much even after he'd treated her so poorly.

"It's not that kind of tired, milady." He sighed, lowering his hand again, "I'm sorry. You were right. This isn't really about you."

She spoke again, "I'm here to listen, you know. I care about you."

He blushed, and she must have felt it, but he ignored it and hoped she'd do the same, "I'm just... I don't have..." He carefully considered how to word exactly what was affecting him so much, "I don't have a lot of freedoms in my life. This is the one place I'm not pretty strictly controlled. School was like that, too, at first, but then..." He sighed, "Things changed."

"Is that what's upsetting you, kitty?" Hearing his own voice call him that was just odd. He tried to focus on Ladybug's voice in his head, but the whole situation was still surreal.

"Part of it," he admitted softly, gently picking up and toying with his tail for a distraction as he spoke, "My father pushes me pretty hard, and most days I don't feel like I measure up. Plus..." he sighed, "Sometimes, I don't feel like you really need me. I don't feel like Paris needs me. I just don't feel like I'm good enough."

His arms wrapped around himself, as close to a hug as she could get without her own body, as Ladybug spoke, "Listen to me, Cat Noir. I can't speak for your father, but I can speak for myself and Paris. I _do_ need you. Sure, I can fight without you. I've had to do it before. But, believe me when I say you make my job _much_ easier." He felt his lips curve up into a small smile, "And, if I'm being honest, you make it a lot more pleasant, too. You're the one who gave me the courage to be Ladybug in the first place. You're an amazing partner, and you're an amazing hero."

"You really mean that?" His voice was so soft and vulnerable in that moment, and part of him feared her reaction.

He shouldn't have, because he felt himself nod, "Of course I do. And if you think I'm too controlling or-"

He cut her off, "No. I've never had a problem with how you lead. Except for the dinosaur incident."

She laughed through him, "I did apologize for that." Then, she spoke with a more solemn expression, "I mean it, we're a team. If you have a problem with something, I want to know. Your opinion is important to me."

He closed his eyes, breathing a soft sigh of relief, "Thank you. I needed to hear that."

She spoke through him again, "Just promise me you'll talk to me next time."

He nodded slowly, "Okay. I can do that."

"Good," he felt himself move away from the wall and grab his baton, "I like it better when we're a team. Are you ready to go fight an akuma?"

He bowed and grinned, "Anything for you, milady."

He felt his eyes roll, and his body rushed to the edge of the rooftop.

Cat Noir took over again and leapt forward, quickly returning to Additionner. The villain watched as he approached, all swagger and taunting smirks now that he'd worked things out with his partner.

She watched him approach with a raised brow, "Someone has a much better attitude now."

"Let's just say we're a little less _divided_ now." He snickered and jumped forward, "I could _add_ that we're getting along just fine now."

Ladybug took over, and he felt himself drop to the ground in time to miss an attack that would have knocked him back.

Cat Noir chuckled and darted around behind the akumatized victim, "Looks like you weren't _counting_ on us working together."

Additionner scowled and turned to face him, "Don't worry, Cat Noir, I plan to divide you and that ring in no time."

Ladybug took over to laugh and grab the villain's arm just as she tried to grab for his ring, "Nice try, but we won't be so easy to take down." Then, his body surged forward, forcing Additionner to the ground below them.

Cat Noir regained control just in time to pin her to the ground, "You're kitten yourself if you think you can take my miraculous."

She scowled and shoved him off of her with more force than he was expecting. He fell back and watched as she stood, searching around her for another person she could add to his body.

While she was distracted, Ladybug took over and quickly dove past Additionner, grabbing the small doll as his body went.

Cat Noir landed and grinned, holding it up. Additionner snarled and lunged at him. He narrowly managed to dodge her.

Ladybug briefly took control again, and he watched as he ripped the doll's arm off.

A black butterfly flew out, and Cat Noir took over again to catch it in one hand. Beside him, Additionner fell to her knees as a black, bubbling substance rolled over her and left a confused schoolteacher behind. He looked around, observing the grateful people around him who had regained control of their own bodies again.

His heart sank when he didn't see Ladybug anywhere. He needed her to cleanse the akuma, and he wasn't quite sure what to do without her.

"Cat?"

He glanced over and saw her laying on the ground behind him. He beamed down at her and rushed to help her to her feet.

She gently rubbed her head and glanced over at him with a small smile, "Let's take care of this akuma."

He nodded and released it, watching as she caught and cleansed it, releasing her healing powers over the city. As was their custom, she held out her fist to him, and he met it with a relieved grin. Then, he pulled her into a hug.

She tensed for a brief second, but then she returned the embrace and smiled.

"I'm sorry," he repeated, guilt still weighing on him.

She shook her head, "I already forgave you and moved on, kitty. You should do the same." She leaned back with a pleasant laugh, "And, to be honest with you, being forced to share a body is about the only way I want to get under your skin."

He nodded, "Thank you."

She considered for a moment, then she pressed a light kiss to his cheek, "Thank you." As he reddened, she stepped away, preparing to swing off.

"W-wait." He extended a hand to her, "We don't need to go yet. We didn't have to use our powers, so we could...spend some time together."

She glanced down at her yo-yo, then back up at him. After a moment of weighing the pros and cons, she nodded, "Okay, I have some time before I need to go back home." She turned to fully face him, "What did you have in mind?"

"Maybe we could find a quiet rooftop and just...talk?"

She grinned, "Okay. I think I know just the place." She prepared to swing off, "Follow me."

"I always will, milady," he answered fondly as he held his baton at the ready.


End file.
